There are times I almost think
I am not sure of what I absolutely know.
Very often find confusion
In conclusion I concluded long ago…
(Spoken): Is a puzzlement

– from “The King and I”, by Rogers and Hammerstein

Camp Eatonbrook Neckerchief Slide

Back in late July I wrote an entry about the neckerchief slide issued for the 1961 Area 6-A Fellowship.   In that post I commented:

“…It is only a guess, but this piece appears to be hand assembled from separately produced components.   The sitting brave appears to be a piece that someone might have been able to buy in quantity at a gift shop, or similar store.   Then the clear plastic back would have been printed separately.   These pieces and a loop could be then assembled to make the finished piece you see here…”

This was a logical hypothesis.  I was hoping someone would comment that could confirm or deny this.   It turns out someone from New York had something to say about this.   Ray Gould wrote in a comment:

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Recently I posted some comments from a friend of mine sent via private email dealing with the perceived mindset of many on preserving their patches for posterity.  Robert Ross has since revealed himself to be that writer.

A couple of readers have asked that he share his thoughts about how patches and Scouting memorabilia should be stored and preserved, with an eye towards long term preservation.  Mr. Ross is an archivist who has worked in libraries in the San Diego area.   The rest of this post is his words.

*****

I have seen a truly impressive collection of flaps. It was a nearly complete number collection. The display was impressive. However, the value of the flaps was greatly reduced. The owner of the collection managed to acquire a stand of swinging carpet sample frames. Think of a rack of posters, and you flip from one poster to another. The frames were metal with a cardboard centre. The owner affixed the flaps by stapling them to the cardboard backing. The staples had been present for years. The truly horrifying part about this anecdote is the collection includes an authentic Baluga.

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I recently had success in removing 2 Skyloo 442 fakes and 1 Wauna La-Mon’Tay 442 fake from Ebay. This is how I did it. First, I emailed the seller and let him know that as a representative from the lodges involved we find it highly repulsive that he is making and selling unauthorized reproductions of our patches without our permission and that we request him to stop or we will seek recourse from the proper authorities. Second, I sent in a request to eBay to have the items removed as unauthorized reproductions made without permission. By doing those two things the items were removed from eBay inside 24 hours.

This is the first time I have had this happen. I had reported fakes before without any action and I had requested the individual to do the same without success. What I think happened is that I did both within hours of the listing and I did them one after the other. Maybe eBay is starting to police itself somewhat — you would think so after losing that lawsuit.

Well, I wanted to report the success and tell everyone that your efforts are not always in vain. Just keep trying.